Petrobras new chief sworn in as market worries Brazil's government will have heavier hand

abcnews.go.com:

Magda Chambriard has been sworn in as the head of Brazil’s state-run oil giant Petrobras as market concerns of increased government intervention in the company mount

RIO DE JANEIRO — The head of Brazil’s state-run oil giant Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, was sworn in Wednesday amid market concerns of increased government intervention in the company.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — who nominated Chambriard — attended the ceremony at a Petrobras research center in Rio de Janeiro, along with Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira.

Chambriard's predecessor, Jean Paul Prates, stepped down last month following months of tensions with the federal government. The market viewed Prates as putting the interests of shareholders above those of the nation, and is skeptical Chambriard — who headed oil and gas regulator ANP between 2012 and 2016 — will have the same approach.

“Our management, as expected, is fully aligned with President Lula’s and the federal government’s vision for the country,” Chambriard said during the ceremony. “After all, they are our majority shareholders.”

Fears of government interventionism in Petrobras date to the sprawling “Car Wash” investigation that began a decade ago. The yearslong investigation discovered billions of dollars in kickbacks related to construction contracts that Petrobras awarded. Investigators found illicit funds filled party coffers and lined politicians’ pockets, at a time when Lula’s Workers’ Party was in power.

Lula himself was jailed for almost 600 days as a result, although his conviction was later annulled. During the ceremony on Wednesday, Lula slammed the investigation's legacy.

“With the false argument of fighting corruption,